The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued an Administrative Order on the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority requiring the Authority to make critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs to its public drinking water system to ensure adequate pressure and volume.

The Order requires PWSA to take specific corrective actions on three of its critical water system improvement projects on a schedule prescribed by the DEP. Those three projects include constructing a new liner at the 133 million gallon treated drinking water Lanpher reservoir; upgrading the microfiltration water treatment plant at Highland Reservoir #1 to include a UV disinfection system; and make improvements to the Brueken Pump Station by installing a backup pump and emergency backup power supply.

In an effort to end what many in the political world consider the unfair practice of gerrymandering in state and congressional legislative districts, Pittsburgh City Council presented a resolution Tuesday to support two state bills that aim to reform the process by which legislative districts are redrawn.

The Will of Council presented by a number of city councilmembers calls the decennial drawing of districts a “detriment of our representative democracy,” and argued that the state, and the city of Pittsburgh, “deserve a fair, fully transparent, impartial and depoliticized process.”

Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have submitted their proposals for consideration for their chance to land the highly sought after second headquarters of Amazon after they announced last month that they were looking to build a second headquarters, touting 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment for the lucky winner.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Pittsburgh Wednesday on an appeal case by the state Department of Environmental Protectionfrom a Commonwealth Court ruling that temporarily blocks sections of new hydraulically fractured natural gas drilling regulations across the state.

During a special meeting of Pittsburgh’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority board Thursday, members approved the city’s proposed $555 million budget for 2018, 3-0.

The board was required to provide a vote on the proposed spending plan by Friday. Two members abstained from the vote, saying they weren’t confident that once the proposal went before City Council, it would face some major changes.